The present invention relates to a waste toner conveying mechanism of an image forming apparatus and the like.
A conventional image forming apparatus described, for example, in Japan Patent Publication Sho. 63-32192, has a waste toner recovery device in which powdery toner attached to an image forming body, such as a photosensitive drum and the like, is scraped into a case or container of a toner conveying apparatus by a blade. A screw arranged in the toner conveying apparatus is rotated and consequently, the toner is conveyed to an outlet of the waste toner recovery device.
In the conventional waste toner recovery device, powdery toner is apt to attach to the screw, and toner is apt to become deposited on or to accumulate on a portion of the device, so that it is difficult to smoothly discharge the toner through a toner outlet.